Reaching out to undergrads

Posted by: Steven Zhang

“Have you been to the Burke Museum before?”

This is a typical question I ask undergraduates during campus outreach opportunities. Among the positive responses I receive, once in a while there are a few “No, I haven’t gotten around to it” or “I’ve been meaning to.” Occasionally, some students say they’re not exactly sure where the Burke is located. As a fellow undergraduate working at the Burke, I understand where these responses are coming from. Before my employment at the museum, I had heard of the Burke many times, through flyers, posters, and articles in The Daily. But like many undergraduates, I simply did not take the extra step to check it out. However, it

is enlightening to see that more and more students are making an effort to come to the Burke. Working here for the past two years, I know this success can be attributed to the Burke events that are geared towards reaching out to undergraduates.

One example of these outreach events is the Burke’s After Hours program, which has been quite successful. Once a quarter, the museum re-opens in the evening, providing live music, big screen movies, exhibit tours, and free food to all UW students! This is a great way for students to experience the Burke in an upbeat and contemporary atmosphere. Some highlights from previous After Hours featured a live DJ, Mighty-O Donuts, Blue C Sushi, and filmmakers Alicia Woods and Jonathan Tomhave. Speaking of which, the Burke’s last After Hours of the academic year is on Wed., May 21 at 7pm. The topic is “Prehistoric Drugs, Sex and Vice!” So stop by and enjoy free pizza and chocolate while learning about the “sexy” culture of ancient societies!

- Steven

Photo: Undergraduate students enjoy sushi and socializing at an After Hours @ the Burke event.

Sensing a bit of Husky pride...

Posted by: Julia Swan

The sun is shining (for now), cherry blossoms are blooming, and Washington Huskies, past and present, are flooding the UW campus. This weekend is the biggest showcase of University of Washington achievements of the entire year—Washington Weekend. Just about every campus department has something exciting going on! Check out the schedule for a full listing of events.

Of course, the Burke Museum is eager to get in on the fun. We’ve decided to offer free admission to all UW alumni and their families for the whole weekend (Friday-Sunday). So for all those UW alum out there who miss the perks of being a student, this is the perfect time to come visit the museum for free! All you need to do is bring your Alumni Association membership to the front desk.

We’ve also got a major event happening Saturday here at the museum. The Plateau Native Arts Celebration is going on from 10 am – 4 pm. We are bringing nine distinguished artists from the Yakama, Cayuse, and Nez Perce nations to demonstrate their crafts. If you liked what you saw in Peoples of the Plateau or This Place Called Home , then this is the perfect opportunity to witness the living arts of the Plateau region. And if you haven’t yet seen these two wonderful exhibits, why not come when you can meet practicing artists in person?

I’ve got my fingers crossed that the nice weather persists and that we have lots of sun for Washington Weekend. Come see the UW campus in all its glory, and while you’re at it, check out the Plateau Native Arts Celebration.

- Julia

Photo by Storms Photographic.

The Burke loves UW student research!

Posted by: Julia Swan

One of my favorite things about the Burke is our connection to the University of Washington. As a campus museum, we are privy to some of the region’s best researchers in a number of different fields. The relationship between the University of Washington and the Burke Museum is a mutually beneficial one. Many of our curator’s teach classes at the University of Washington, and university researchers have easy access to our collections. But it’s not only the seasoned professionals whose research impacts the Burke—it’s also a home to many students, both undergraduate and graduate, who work at, visit, and study the collections of the museum.

A great example of the student-museum partnership is the upcoming Bill Holm Center “Spring Lecture Series” happening at the museum. Starting this month, five graduate students holding Bill Holm Center Research Fellowships, will be presenting their research about Northwest Coast Native art to the public. Each lecturer will highlight their graduate research. Topics range from Chilkat tunics to Haida jewelry to Tlingit daggers! For full details about the spring lecture series, click here.

- Julia

Mmm...donuts

Posted by: Julia Swan

What’s better than a buffet of delicious snacks with everything from finger sandwiches to donuts? A FREE buffet of delicious snacks, of course!

And what’s even better than snacking on a rich, delicious buffet? Snacking on that buffet at the Burke Museum where you can also peruse beautiful handcrafted clothing from the Columbia River Plateau, contemplate the intriguing photographs of Plateau Native Americans that U.S. Major Lee Moorhouse took at the end of the nineteenth century, and watch documentary films from the UW Native Voices program.

UW students can do it all tonight at the Burke Museum Student Open House from 7-9 pm.

See you there!
Julia

Let us feed your stomachs and minds

Posted by: Julia Swan

UW Students: Come to the Burke for free food, films, and new exhibits!

Calling all UW students! Have you been to the Burke this quarter to see Peoples of the Plateau and This Place Called Home—two new exhibits about the arts and culture of the Columbia River Plateau region? If the answer is yes, then you’ll definitely want to come back to meet the curator (coincidently, he’s a UW student!) and talk to him about his experiences putting together the exhibit. If the answer is no, then you really need to come see the beautiful, hand-crafted objects we have on display, like rawhide saddle bags, intricately beaded cradle boards, elkskin clothing, and a lot more.

I bet you are wondering, “when might I do all this?” Of course as a student, you can come to the Burke for free any day, but why not come on Wednesday, March 5, from 7 -9 pm, when the museum will be open late just for students? On top of that, we will be serving a delicious buffet of rich hor d’oeuvres with Mighty-O Donuts and coffee for dessert.

Finally, when you’re done checking out the exhibits and munching on yummy treats, you should stay for two screenings of films from the UW’s own Native Voices documentary film program. White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men and American Red and Black: Stories of Afro-Native Identity (pictured left) will be playing at the Burke with special appearances by filmmaker Alicia Woods and Native Voices rep Jonathan Tomhave.

So take a break from studying and mosey on up to the Burke Museum to meet new people, indulge in tasty (free!) food, and learn something new about the Native cultures of Eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

See you there!

- Julia

Focus the Nation

Posted by: Karyn Gregory

January 25th, 2008 saw the kickoff of Focus the Nation, a program dedicated to raising environmental awareness in America’s youth. Various programs are to be held throughout the week at multiple institutions, culminating in a synchronous nation wide teach-in on Jan 31. The University of Washington and Burke Museum are joining the national teach-in with an innovative panel called Climate Change Impacts on Indigenous Populations, moderated by former Burke curator Dr. Steve Harrell. The talk will be held in HUD 209A on the UW campus at 3pm. Come on by and hear what the panel has to say.

Focus the Nation at UW includes 11 panel discussions, an exhibit hall with over 40 participating organizations, and culminates at 7 PM with a panel at Kane Hall which includes Jay Inslee, Fred Jarrett, Greg Nickels, and Ron Sims, moderated by Steve Scher.

For more information on UW’s involvement, check out their page.

-Karyn

Plateau News

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

University Week is out now with a wonderful piece on our upcoming Plateau exhibits (opening Jan. 26). Co-curators Miles R. Miller and Jim Nason talk about the significance of these exhibits in promoting cultural awareness across broad audiences. They offer great insight into the work of the museum: telling the real stories of real people using their real voices and authentic materials. It’s no easy job, but it is one they are both passionate about.

- Rebecca.

Photo: Baby moccasins and adult moccasins (Yakama), photo by Mary Levin. On view in This Place Called Home, Jan. 26 – June 8, 2008.

Drink it in

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

Congrats to the Burke Café for this great feature in The Daily. Good coffee and spectacular 18^th century French pine paneling make it my favorite spot for my 3 pm sugar fix. It's nice to see it recognized by others on campus and beyond!

- Rebecca

Photo by John McLellan, courtesy of The Daily.

Meet the Mosasaur

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

The new year brings us a new friend on the UW campus.

Head down to Hitchcock Hall in south campus and you'll find a newly installed 85 million year old mosasaur fossil. And yes, it's real.

The mosasaur is an extinct marine reptile, a dominant predator of the Cretaceous Period. The one on display, newly donated to the Burke's paleontology collections by the Hart family, is probably a species of mosasaur known as Platecarpus.

Next week we install a 21-foot-long (!!!), 125 million year old ichthyosaur in the Burke Room, also donated by the Hart family. The scoop on that with lots of photos will be coming up soon on Burke Blog.

- Rebecca

Photos

Top: Burke Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Christian Sidor (left) and Fossil Preparator Bruce Crowley (Right) put finishing touches on the new mosasaur installation in Hitchcock Hall.

Bottom: Ichthyosaurus painting by Heinrich Harder

After Hours @ the Burke

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin


On the evening of Oct. 4, the Burke opened its doors to 1000 UW students for a party like our museum has never seen before. With DJs Introcut and Kamui from Fourthcity, yummy food by Blue C Sushi, a screening of The Host, and access to exhibits all through the night, students had the chance to take over our usually quiet space and make it their own.

The results:

We're doing it again on Thurs., Nov. 1, 7-9 pm, with a Wild West theme, inspired by our Yellowstone to Yukon exhibit. Hot cider, a screening of Grizzly Man, music by DJ Nominal I... this event promises to be more intimate than the first, but every bit as great. UW student ID is required for entrance.

Art more your thing? Our friends over at the Henry are throwing a student party that same night, 5-8 pm. There's even time to start at the Henry and make it over to the Burke for the 8:30 movie screening!

- Rebecca

Music in video: "Concrete Mythology" by Deceptikon (from Fourthcity compilation album, "Butter")

Recycling just got easier

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

For our University District neighbors…

Awesome news via our friends at the Greater University Chamber of Commerce:

“Starting in July, there will be new recycling bins next to the trash cans on the Ave below 45^th ST. This pilot project conducted with Seattle Public Utilities is an attempt at becoming more green. Please take the time to locate and use the recycling bins.

The effectiveness of these bins will be evaluated after 90 days, after which the decision will be made to either expand the program or remove the bins altogether. Your support in this endeavor to make the U-District more green would be greatly appreciated.”

I’m excited to have more convenient recycling in our neck of the woods, and I hope you are too. Let’s all promise to put those bins to use and hopefully this program will stick around for good!

- Rebecca

Free Admission for Alumni this Weekend!

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin


Hey, UW alumni – you’re invited to a very cool, very FREE tour of the Burke Museum’s In the Spirit of the Ancestors exhibit this weekend, in celebration of Washington Weekend 2007.

Join curator Dr. Robin K. Wright on Fri., April 27, at 12:15 pm for a tour or catch the Sat., April 28th tours at noon and 2 pm with Burke docents.

Other activities include a scavenger hunt and live archaeology demonstrations in the galleries with our “Burke 101” learning lab on Sat. from 12 – 2 pm.

Admission to the Burke Museum is FREE to UW alumni and their families during Washington Weekend!

- Rebecca

Greener Campus

Posted by: Karyn Gregory

Since the Burke Museum shares a campus with the University of Washington, their news is often our news. Last week, UW President Mark Emmert signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, “pledging that all three UW campuses will record its emissions of greenhouse gases and implement policies to decrease them.” Between 2000 and 2005, the University cut back gas emissions by 9 percent. Not too shabby.

Today, the Burke Web site is launching a new resource for information concerning climate change on both local and global levels.

In the coming months, the Burke Museum will offer exhibits, educational programs, and environmental forums designed to engage audiences in an ongoing discussion about climate change and global warming solutions.

-Karyn

Cherry Blossoms and Global Warming

Posted by: Karyn Gregory


Sakura is the Japanese name for cherry blossom trees, a popular landscape decoration here in Seattle. The trees on the University of Washington campus have begun to bloom, an annual event anticipated by many locally.

In their native country, millions of yen are poured into festivals and parties to watch the trees bloom and celebrate nature’s beauty. It’s a magnet for tourism and people plan their trips well in advance based on blooming predictions from the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

This year the Agency predicted that global warming would cause the trees to bloom a full 10 days earlier than in years past, setting a new record.

Unfortunately, these predictions were found to be false, made in error due to a computer bug in their system. Oops! The Agency has spent the past day apologizing for any inconvenience their inaccurate predictions may have caused. They now predict that the trees will bloom next Wednesday, March 21.

If you’re not heading off to Japan, there’s always the Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Festival, planned for April 20-22, 2007. This year there will be a symposium on “Japanese Design Today” and a performance by Japanese heavy metal band BlesseDmain.

- Karyn

New Podcast: Burke 101

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

Take a listen to our latest podcast, "Burke 101: When Students Become Teachers." You can play it on your computer from the Burke Museum Podcasts Web page or subscribe to the podcast by adding the following URL to your podcasting software's subscriptions manager:
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/podcast/burke.xml.

This new podcast is a short info piece on a great new program at the Burke that trains UW college students to serve as interpreters for museum visitors on the weekends. Hear from the students, professors, and visitors who make this program come to life.

International Polar Year launched

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin


Last week scientists across the globe kicked off International Polar Year. The IPY project will promote dozens of research projects and educational outreach programs to help advance knowledge about and awareness of polar issues.

The Poles might be distant, but they are far from irrelevant. While some scientists, such as the Burke Museum’s own curator of vertebrate paleontology Christian Sidor, study ancient life in polar extremes, others are researching the impact of the Poles on life today. Changes in polar ice sheets can affect global sea levels and can have a dramatic and immediate impact on the lives of Northern communities.

Of local interest, the Pacific Science Center is hosting Polar Science Weekend featuring the researchers from the University of Washington’s Polar Science Center.

- Rebecca

Sustainability is sexy

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

Why sell guilt when you can sell sex?

Last week, the Seattle PI highlighted an interesting UW student-run campaign going on right outside our museum doors. Led by the Young Democrats, students are using a bold slogan to promote sustainable consumer choices – “Sustainability is Sexy.”

Plastered on t-shirts, buttons, and stickers, the slogan promotes awareness for campus incentives to reduce consumerist waste. Bring your own coffee cup to a UW coffee stand and save $1 on drip coffee or get 10 cents off an espresso drink.

If you’re interested in more info about alternative coffee choices, try this great local resource: ¿Más Café? Vicky Lawson and Colleen Donovan of the UW Department of Geography put together this handy Web site providing you with info on fair trade, organic and shade grown coffee. TransFair gives us this list of Washington State fair trade certified licensees.

Personally, I go sustainable by reusing a coffee travel mug plastered with a childhood picture of my sister and me playing Atari and suffering from some mean Saturday morning bed head (admittedly not sexy). How do you go sustainable?

- Rebecca